After more than a fortnight of intense chase, experts on November 6 managed to tranquilise Sundari, the tigress brought from Madhya Pradesh as part of tiger reintroduction programme in Odisha’s Satkosia Tiger Reserve.
Sundari is said to have mauled two persons in villages inside the tiger reserve. Subsequently, residents resorted to arson demanding the capture of the big cat.
“Our Satkosia team has managed to tranquilise the tigress at 10.45 a.m. on on November 6. The tigress has been revived following perfect tranquilisation and its health condition is fine,” Sudarshan Panda, Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forest, told The Hindu over phone.
After a 60-year-old man died in an alleged tigress attack on October 21, it was decided to capture the animal and keep it in an enclosure. Since then tranquiliser experts from Satkosia, Nandankanan Zoological Park, Madhya Pradesh and Wildlife Institute of India and more than 250 field staff had been following the animal. Subsequently, Jasoda, a trained elephant, was engaged for capturing Sundari.
“The animal will be kept in the special enclosure set up at Raiguda inside Satkosia,” said Mr. Panda.
The senior forest official said a high level team would be formed to decide the fate of the animal. Earlier, the State Forests and Environment Minister Bijoyshree Routray had, however, said that the tiger would be brought to Nandankanan Zoological Park.
It was not easy to tranqualise the tigress in the wild. There was every chance of the animal getting hit at wrong places, which could have proved fatal. Besides, sighting of the animal in the forest landscape of Satkosia was difficult.
Sundari, which was brought from Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, was part of a group of six tigers and tigresses which were proposed to be brought from Madhya Pradesh to increase tiger population in Satkosia. A male tiger translocated from Kanha Tiger Reserve of Madhya Pradesh was released into the forest. Satkosia tiger reserve sources said the male tiger had successfully mated with a resident tigress.
Different reasons were attributed to Sundari’s repeated straying into of human habitations. According to State forest department sources, the three-year-old tigress was in search of a partner for mating. It was, however, facing violent resistance from STR’s two resident tigresses.
